For doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, we
also will offer some comments on the choice
between a Ph.D. degree and a Psy.D. degree.
- SOCIAL WORK
What Do Social Workers Do?The master’s in social work (MSW) is a very versa-
tile degree. Social workers can be involved in many
different types of careers and in many different
types of settings. Visit the Web sites of the National
Association of Social Workers (http://www.
naswdc.org/ and http://www.helpstartshere.org/)..)
As you will see on these Web sites, social workers
include:social caseworkers(providing case manage-
ment, assessing needs and applying agency services
and resources to address social, health, or economic
problems);medical social workers(working with the
special needs of patients and families in hospitals,
long-term care facilities, and other medical care
facilities);school social workers (helping with emo-
tional, social, and economic problems so that stu-
dents can focus on getting an education);clinical
social workers(providing psychotherapy and counsel-
ing in private practice, psychiatric and mental health
care settings, or employee assistance programs
within larger companies);administration and manage-
ment(overseeing the programs and systems that pro-
vide social, health, and public welfare services);
community organization (working in cooperation
with the community to identify needs and to
develop or improve services and systems to meet
those needs); social policy and research (analyzing
social problems, designing and conducting in-
depth research studies, and developing ways for
social programs and systems to overcome those
problems).
What Is the Training Like?Although you can obtain a doctorate in social work
(DSW or Ph.D), it is completely possible to be an
autonomous, practicing social worker with a mas-
ter’s degree. With only two years of schooling (plus
an internship), it also can be a quick way to get into
the workforce. Master’s programs generally can
accept a much higher proportion of applicants for
admission than doctoral programs; thus, it is some-
what easier to gain admission if going this route.- SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY
What Do School Psychologists do?
The National Association of School Psychologists
(NASP; http://www.nasponline.org/) has a great
Web site that describes the field, the roles, and
the salaries of school psychologists.
School psychologists generally are focused on
helping children succeed in the school setting,
both academically and emotionally. Most work in
a school setting. Their work can involve individual
consultation with children and families, designing
programs to assist teachers with specialized class-
room instruction needs, and program development
to help train basic skills like anger management and
social skills. In these ways, school psychologists are
like the ambassadors of psychology in a school set-
ting. When a child is experiencing difficulties, if
there is a crisis in the school (e.g., trauma, death),
or if administrators are setting a policy that
will affect children’s educational lives, school psy-
chologists are there to ensure that psychological
well-being is maintained and to help educate
other professionals on children’s psychological
needs or limitations.
Another major task for many school psycholo-
gists is to conduct assessments of children’s aca-
demic and social-emotional functioning. Every
child who may be eligible for giftedness placement
or for learning disability (LD) services needs to be
evaluated using standardized assessments. School
psychologists typically are the only professionals
within the school setting with the training to
administer and interpret these types of standardized
assessments. LD evaluations in particular have
important implications not only for children but
also for school policy and funding. Public law man-
dates that children receive the services they need to564 APPENDIX